Lol you're all good, there was a time in my life when I used to get pissy when people would say that, and I'd go WELL AKCHUALLY and proceed to tell them at great length how they just don't get it... super cringe shit tbh.
Corporate retail pharmacy is a fucking dumpster fire for all parties involved... patients are #1 but it sucks shit for providers and pharmacy staff too. Everyone except the C-suites and shareholders. No harm in pointing it out.
Sorry you had to deal with this, and that your local indie shop is fucked too. Don't know if it would help at all but next time consider asking if your provider would notate on the prescription "BRAND NAME MEDICALLY NECESSARY," or since this is likely an electronic Rx, check the field for NO SUBSTITUTIONS to hedge against Walgreen's system autosubbing for the generic. Depending on your state law (assuming you're in US) there may be a different phrase or method for forcing the pharmacy to fill brand name.
Second, I didn't come here to defend these guys or tell you not to trust your lying eyes. I'm just gonna paste what I wrote in the White House Pharmacy thread the other day. this was in response to someone asking how retail pharmacists aren't just glorified pez dispensers:
more serious note though, the extent to which people unironically say this about pharmacy is a key example of how for-profit healthcare and capitalism in general has corrupted the profession IMO. medicine, just like all health care should be free for all and healthcare workers should treat people with dignity and respect and should themselves be able to work their profession with dignity... if it looks like the pharmacist is a useless gatekeeper just counting pills all day that's because that's the extent to which the profession has been degraded. there's still important work being done behind the scenes but the amount of corporate BS far outweighs it. trust me most of them hate it too, even if they lack the awareness to see where the problem truly is. there are some scumbags but most of them know they should be making sure that people get the medicine they need safely, and not answering to CVS or Walgreens' bottom lines.
in the US, you can approach a pharmacist and ask for OTC medical advice. whether you get a decent answer depends on a lot of factors... if you're wanting to ask a corporate retail pharmacist it depends on how overworked and shortstaffed they are. if you have an independent community pharmacy nearby your odds are a lot better.
some pharmacists are offering oral contraception now, and I think anything increasing access to that is a good thing in principle. don't @ me about "access" to health care, btw, I understand it's not the end goal.
whether this will be a trend among other drug classes, idk. until we have a functioning healthcare system and people can get what they need when they need it, I think it's at least better than the status quo.
thanks, life is busy but sometimes I think about getting into creative writing again. if it ever goes down I'll share. Tales from Not a True Pharmacy, where they definitely don't handle large volumes of pharmaceuticals with zero oversight
more serious note though, the extent to which people unironically say this about pharmacy is a key example of how for-profit healthcare and capitalism in general has corrupted the profession IMO. medicine, just like all health care should be free for all and healthcare workers should treat people with dignity and respect and should themselves be able to work their profession with dignity... if it looks like the pharmacist is a useless gatekeeper just counting pills all day that's because that's the extent to which the profession has been degraded. there's still important work being done behind the scenes but the amount of corporate BS far outweighs it. trust me most of them hate it too, even if they lack the awareness to see where the problem truly is. there are some scumbags but most of them know they should be making sure that people get the medicine they need safely, and not answering to CVS or Walgreens' bottom lines.
This was a pretty fun read. I'm a pharmacist by trade, and I know people who work in federal facilities. Usually state laws are mere suggestions, but since the workers all have state-issued licenses they presumably want to keep, things stay pretty reasonable. Federal laws are also usually considered mandatory. Seems like nobody gave one iota of a shit here though, lmao. Guess military pharmacies are run different.
Former White House Medical Unit medical providers told investigators that ineligible White House staff members received controlled substance prescriptions and free specialty care, including surgery, at military facilities. Even though the office was only supposed to cover care for 60 enrolled patients, the office instituted its own policy that effectively let any of the 6,000 people working in or around the White House seek health care services. Those were all inappropriately billed to the Defense Department.
Lol this part slaps. Who gives a shit if someone got free care. Critical support for only letting ghouls and ghoul-adjacents in though.
Military Health System officials were unable to identify which organization was responsible for overseeing the office, though it is governed by the rules of the Navy, according to the medical unit. But the Navy told investigators that it was not in charge; the Defense Health Agency, which coordinates care on behalf of the different branches of the military, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center were. Walter Reed told investigators that it supplies the White House’s pharmacy, but that Walter Reed was not in charge of it. The Defense Health Agency admitted to investigators that the White House Medical Unit actually has “no clear line of oversight.”
holy fuck I bet working here was a blast. imagine the stories! jesus christ part of me wants to write a little series of short stories in this setting.
White House Medical Unit officials, defending the practices to the OIG, emphasized that the unit “does not operate a true pharmacy,” telling investigators that “the unit does not handle a large enough volume of pharmaceuticals to qualify as a pharmacy or to require a full time pharmacist.”
Lol, up to 6,000 eligible patients and no full time pharmacist? I understand military pharm techs are allowed to do a lot of work that requires a pharmacist in the civilian world, but come on what the fuck? I wonder how much that 6,000 number was inflated. A good tech can outperform an average pharmacist at filling scripts any day in my experience but god damn, at some point somebody trained to make clinical decisions needs to be involved right?
TY for the link, this was super entertaining in the darkest way!
I'm so sorry you have to deal with this OP, but this may be the best advice for now. Controlled substance prescriptions are generally allowed to be mailed from a dispensing pharmacy, but you are correct in checking with state law. Hope you find something.
corporate retail pharmacy workers have been treated like dog shit the past decade plus. race to the bottom among the big players, chronic intentional understaffing and impossible metrics cooked up by MBAs who have absolutely no concept of caring for patients beyond seeing that as something which must be discouraged at every turn so more money can be extracted from the system.
fortunately the tides may be turning, see recent CVS walkouts and Kaiser strike as an example of corporate pharmacy workers tired and ready to fuck shit up. I got out of that game a long time ago but I hope they utterly wreck shop.
former corporate retail pharmacist here. that posting was likely for a technician role. at least I hope so. corporate retail pharmacy is a fucking dumpster fire right now but I don't think it's reached quite that level yet.
replied to the wrong comment! this was meant for the one above.
holy fuck I bet working here was a blast. imagine the stories! jesus christ part of me wants to write a little series of short stories in this setting.
hell yes, love you too and I long for the day when this evil system is just a terrible memory